ST. LOUIS-- Panera Bread recently announced the availability of its national delivery service for the first time through DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats. In addition to being able to order from Panera's own app and web site, consumers will now be able to use all three apps to order Panera for lunch or dinner. Whether customers order via Panera's apps or through one of its partners, their orders will be delivered to them by Panera's own delivery drivers in most markets. Through these new partnerships, Panera is creating more ways for guests to access their Panera favorites while still ensuring the quality Panera delivery experience the company has honed over the last three years.

Delivery via the Panera app and ecommerce platforms remains in place and will continue to be a strong point of access, for both new and existing Panera customers. Year to date, Panera's platforms have driven more than 28 million delivery orders, resulting in delivery becoming 7% of Panera's overall sales. In fact, the "bring your own courier model" is only possible because of the strong infrastructure Panera has established through its own delivery platform.

"Panera has been a leader in the delivery market as one of the first fast casual concepts to offer its own delivery service. Through these partnerships, we are pioneering once again by being the first fast casual to launch the "bring your own courier" model nation-wide," said Dan Wegiel, EVP Chief Growth and Strategy Officer at Panera. "The most important consideration for Panera is owning the guest experience—and making sure it's a great one. These new partnerships are possible because we already have a fleet of delivery drivers and the infrastructure created to support increased demand. We believe this partnership model helps differentiate us from our competitors and will take our already successful delivery business to new heights."

The delivery industry has continued to see exponential growth, and now, Panera fans in certain areas can order through DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats from a majority of the 1,600 Panera cafes offering delivery.

Wegiel added, "These partnerships capitalize on the delivery base we built over the last few years and use an economic model that works for us. More consumers than ever will be able to access Panera with the service-level expectations to which they have grown accustomed – we love that."

Panera is now working to connect the brand's industry-leading loyalty program—MyPanera—to delivery orders placed through the delivery partner sites. In the coming months, customers signed up for the MyPanera program will be able to earn visit credits toward MyPanera rewards when ordering through DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats. Panera and the three partners have also committed to supporting the partnership through robust marketing efforts in 2019.